Hamas holds Israel responsible for the escalation

Hamas Movement held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the escalation east of Gaza Strip and its consequences, spokesman for the Movement Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.

The statement was issued after Israeli forces launched airstrikes and fired artillery shells on the borders of Gaza at least twice since Wednesday morning hours.

“The Movement calls on the concerned parties to shoulder their responsibility to stop this aggression and the Israeli crimes,” the statement added. The Israeli crimes will not succeed in breaking the Palestinian will and determination, the Movement emphasized.

Earlier Wednesday, Israeli forces shelled a number of watchtowers used by Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, in Shujayya neighborhood of Gaza City in the eastern Gaza Strip.

In response to the Israeli shelling, Palestinian resistance fired a mortar shell at an Israeli bulldozer while leveling land in eastern Gaza.